December 2007 Archive

UPDATED: David Letterman’s Late Showwriters go back to work tomorrow. An insider tells me, “Believe me, we understand this is the beginning of a real opportunity to call attention to what has had almost no television coverage in the last two months. So, it’s pretty simple. Get the message out, be hysterically funny in the execution, and in so doing, embarrass the AMPTP into full capitulation no later than January 7th. Okay, the 8th.”
Previous: There’s no doubt now that… Read

Well, NBC keeps insisting that it won’t cancel the telecast of Hollywood’s most bogus awards show in spite of the certainty there’ll be WGA picketing and some nominated stars staying home in solidarity with the striking writers. The Peacock confirmed today it will air the 65th annual Golden Globes live from Los Angeles as planned on January 13. Since the show itself is put on by the ethically challenged Hollywood Foreign Press Association, it makes sense that neither that… Read

Fans4writers.com, a website where fans show support for striking Hollywood writers, has made plans to use the occasion of the Tournament Of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day to have five planes “skytype” in support of the writers. In addition, a street team of fans will hand out flyers at the parade. To fund the effort, a silent auction and fundraising event is being held featuring some items donated by WGA members including scripts from the TV series Battlestar…Read

Needless to say, the following is a parody of the “Why We Write” campaign. This spoof was created by WGA members Lissa Kapstrom & Will Schifrin:
“Why We Don't Write”: The AMPTP (because,"Hey, we got stuff to say too")
“I had a typical childhood, growing up in a modest, six thousand square foot house in Connecticut. My father was a hard working investment banker who liked to unwind by sleeping with my nannies, and my mother had a special talent for hiding her Librium… Read

Installment #5Today's piece is written by Greg Berlanti, Executive Producer of Dirty Sexy Money and Brothers and Sisters.
I've never considered myself much of a writer. I'm not particularly great at it. On my best day I don't have half the talent of many people I've been lucky enough to hire and to work with. And this is not false humility. Ask any writer who works with me, they'll tell you how much I rely on their abilities, how often I struggle to craft the simplest… Read

UPDATED: All along the issue, the really big issue, was whether the striking writers would still feel united if some of them went back to work and others stayed on the picket lines. I’ve learned that was just one of the many worries voiced by the WGA to the posse repping Worldwide Pants when it applied for an interim agreement allowing the two late night shows it owns, The Late Show With David Letterman and The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson, to return to the air on… Read

Installment #4Today's piece is written by Carol Mendelsohn, member of the WGA Negotiating Committee as well as showrunner and executive producer of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and co-creator and executive producer of CSI: Miami and CSI: New York.
Once, a long time ago in Upstate New York, far above Cayuga's waters, on a cold winter's night in a rundown cockroach infested dump that passed for a house in Collegetown, one of my roommates drew a picture of me. She did… Read

I’d like to hear your theories/predictions/suggestions in the Comments section of this post about what positive (repeat, positive) steps can be taken starting January 1st to end this strike in a way that’s perceived as fair to both sides since it’s abundantly clear that neither the WGA nor the AMPTP is going to surrender anytime soon. (I won’t be able to monitor comments until tonight so your musings won’t post right away. Please don’t email your comments, only post them… Read

Installment #3Today's piece is written by Howard Gordon, Executive Producer of 24.
I remember being in a writers' room a few years ago, and someone – a brilliant and famous writer whose name I'll keep to myself for now – rhapsodized about the exquisite ecstasy of the writing process. "Don't you love it when you get lost inside the story, and the characters start speaking for themselves, and you look up and realize eight hours have passed?" I nodded dumbly, and… Read

"Speechless #360 – Santa Claus"
“Well, the list was done by the deadline, but my agent says if I check it even once, it's crossing the line.”
“I'll give you animation and reality, I get to keep cookies and milk.”
"Well, technically I'm a teamster."
"Next year in Jerusalem."
Sixty years later and I have yet to see dollar one in Miracle on 34th Street residuals!
AND THE REST OF THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY:
“Now Meyer, now Moonves, now Iger, now Chernin!
On Grey, on… Read

Tonight on Christmas eve, the following letter signed by 127 striking writers with pilots pending was emailed to the Hollywood CEOs and almost 200 studio and network TV development execs. “These execs are our partners in these projects,” say the two people who initiated this letter and wish to remain anonymous (although I have confirmed their identities), “so we wanted to reach out in an effort to get the AMPTP back to the table while there is still a chance of getting… Read